Roscoe trustee candidates discuss spending choices

ROSCOE — With the general election less than a week away, four candidates for three open seats on the Roscoe Village Board recently shared their views on spending during tough economic times.

Greg Stanley

ROSCOE — With the general election less than a week away, four candidates for three open seats on the Roscoe Village Board recently shared their views on spending during tough economic times.

The fifth candidate, Lowell Smith, did not attend a Monday forum at the North Suburban Library District and did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Rob Baxter describes himself as a fiscal conservative but says he’s not opposed to spending money when it comes to safety and jobs. Baxter thinks Roscoe’s growing population has led to dangerous traffic patterns. He says the village needs to address frequent speeding in neighborhoods, whether it’s through neighborhood watches, a marketing campaign or adding speed bumps.

Baxter also has pledged to start an unemployment committee, made up of local business owners and village trustees (and eventually school officials), to help find ways to reach out to the unemployed.

“Basically, we would talk on a monthly basis about how to improve the job picture, rather than just have four or five board members spinning their wheels,” he said. “Within a six-month period, we would have some type of plan to better address the needs of the jobless and of businesses, as far as the types of jobs that are available, and we would seek input on how to learn specific skill sets. Even if it means we would have people underemployed for a while, at least we could help them get back out into the work force.”

Kevork Muradian, who says he’s “pretty far to the right” when it comes to spending money, would like to see the village settle its ongoing contract dispute with its police officers union without going to arbitration.

“It’s kind of like the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” he said. “With back pay and pensions and future raises, the contract is going to have a real impact on our overall budget. If we don’t have a clear picture of what that is going to look like, then how can we say we have a certain amount of money to dedicate toward different projects? I think we’re in a nobody-wins situation right now, rather than finding a good middle ground where everyone gets something. I wonder, at times, if this is because egos come into play, whether it’s with the union or the current administration, and that they’ve hardened more on perceptions than actual data.”

Carol Gustafson says that financial decisions need to be made with greater transparency for the public.

“The question is, what can we do with the amount of dollars we have? Because we can’t raise taxes,” she said. “We need to balance our priorities, and the public needs to at least feel like a part of the process. The public is not always going to agree with everything the board decides — that’s just not possible — but they can be a part of the process. We need to establish our priorities and show that our decisions are data-driven and for the greater good of all Roscoe. That is a process I would like to be a part of.”

Dale Keller thinks the current administration needs to be more aggressive in cutting the budget.

“I sat through the budget hearings last year, and really, I think the budget process was joke,” he said. “It was more like a wish list on how they would like to spend money, and there was really no talk about spending money wisely. Listening to them was like nailing Jell-O to a tree — there was no conviction. I’d like to see a more decisive board and more precision in trying to spend money.”